Door-latch.



G. H. ELWELL.

DOOR LATCH. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-27. 1915.

Patented Oct, 16,1917.

WITNESSES:

1N VENTOR.

(MM/c4 QM as rarnnr Enron.

GEORGE HENRY ELwELL, or :sosroiv, MASSACHUSETTS.

DOOR-LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917..

Application filed September 27, 1915. Serial No. 52,870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE HENRY ELWELL, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk, Gommonwealth of Massachusetts, and United States of America,have invented an Improvement in Door-Latches, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is aspecification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

My invention relates toimprovements in door latches and moreparticularly to that class of latches employing a bolt wlth ahook-shaped head for interlocking engagement with the striker-plate.

The object of my invention is to provide a latch bolt fully adapted tothe elasticity of motor car bodies and like uses.

With this and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the in ,vention consists in certain novel features ofconstructlon and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustratedin the ac accompanying drawing and particularly pointed out whereinpatentable novelty is claimed for certain features of the device, itbeing understood that within the scope of what hereinafter thus isclaimed various changes in form, proportion, size and minor details ofthe construction may be made without departing from the spirit ormodifying anyof the advantages of the invention.

The following is a description of an embodiment of my invention,reference being had to the accompanying drawings:

1n the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an upright view of themechanism of the device.

Fig. 2 is a top View of the device.

Fig. 3 is a detailcross section view f incasement, lever and bolt, atdotted line aa in Fig. 2. I a

Fig. 4: is a detail cross section view of incasement and bolt at dottedline 6-4) in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail in dotted lines showing bolt sections in superposition with slightly 1 with aback 4 having a perforation 5, said" face2 and back withtheir perforations 3 and 5 pro iding guiding bearings fora sliding bolt 6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The bolt 6 is provided witha beveled head 7 for engaging a striker-plate 33 and is also providedwith a laterally movable section 8 pivoted at 81 and having a hook 9provided with a beveled face and normally maintained in a projectedposition by means of a spring 10 mounted on an assembling pin 32, asshown in Fig. 2. The incasement 1 is also provided with two movableconveyers 1S and 20. Conveyer 18 is yieldingly maintained in its normalrearward position, a shown, by means of springs 19, so as to travel inthe space under said bolt 6 when in engagement with and pushed forwardby arms 28 secured to bolt 6 as shown in Fig.1. Gonveyer is maintainedin its normal forward position by means of a spring 22 so as to travelin the space 17 under said bolt 6 when in engagement with and pushedrearwardly by bolt 6. It has a projection 36 lying between arms 11 ofsaid bolt 6 adapted to be engaged by the rear of member 8. Theincasement 1 is provided with a slot 21 regulating the travel of theparts connected to. pin 35, which as sembles said spring 22 with saidconveyer 20 as shown in Fig. 1. A lever 12 is provided with a bentattaching end 13 attached to incasement 1- by means of a rivet 1-1 asshown in Fig. 1 permittin the operation of said lever 12 in space 16under said bolt 6 as shown in Fig. 2. Said lever 12 is nor mallymaintained in. an upright position by means of an arm of spring-pressedconveyer 20 and check 23 with which said incasement 1 is provided asshown in Fig. 1. The lever 12 is provided with a transverse recess 27for travel of bolt 6, and said recess 27 is -mentwith a shoulder 30 withwhich bolt 6 is provided when" the, lever 12 is slightly tilted as shownin Fig. 5.

In operation when the latch is in an interlocking engagementwith thestriker-plate.

33 any strain tending to separatethe strikerplate from the latchincasement extends the projection of said bolt head according to saidstrain and the arms 28 of bolt 6 advance the conveyer 18 against theexertion of. the springs 19, said conveyer returning to its normalrearward position under the action of springs 19 when tension on bolt 6is relaxed. In the extended advance movement of said bolt headbolt 6travels freely over lever 12 and conveyer 20 without operating them.lVhen the bolt head isrretired by means of engagement of its beveledface with the striker-plate, the retiring movement of said bolt travelsfreely over the conveyer 18 and lever 12 without engaging or operatingthem. When the bolt head is retired by means of lever 12, theshoulder 26in its downward movement operates the hook section 8, as aforesaid andtheshoulder 29 of lever 12 engaging the shoulder 30 of bolt 6 forces thebolt 6 backwardly. The bolt 6 is thus operated by a lever in the usualway but when in holding engagement with the striker-plate is hookedthereto by the hook 9 whose nose projects over an inner surface on thestriker-plate, and is drawn forward by any separation due to rocking ofthe frame of the car, returning to normal position when the door and itsjamb return to normal position. The rigid end of the body of the bolt'6projects beyond the inner surface of the nose of the hook so as toengage the side of the opening in the striker-plate, and preferablyextends so as to terminate in substantially the same transverse plane asthe end of the hook.

As will be evident to those skilled inthe art, my invention permits ofvarious modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or thescope of the appended claims.

l'Vhat I claim is:

1. A door-holding means comprising a striker-plate and a latch mechanismhaving a bolt provided with a hook normally yieldingly held in anintermediate longitudinal position, from which it can be moved in eitherdirection, and in a laterally projecting positionwith its noseextendingover a rearward face on said striker-plate, and manual means forretracting said hook laterally and said bolt longitudinally from saidstriker-plate,

2A door-holding means comprising a striker-plate and a latch mechanismhaving a bolt provided with a rigid forward end,

and a laterally movable hook normally yieldingly ield in an intermediatelongitudinal position, fromwhich it can be moved in either direction,and in a laterally pro- 1 ecting position with its nose [extending overa rearward facexon said striker-plate,

:said rigid forward end extending-beyond the inner surface of saidhookandma-nual tractingsaid hook laterally and said bolt longitudinallyfrom i said strikenplate.

aLVA door-holdingmeans comprising a striker-plate and a latch mechanismhaving a bolt provided with a hook normally yieldingly held in anintermediatelongitudinal position, frorn which-it can be moved ineither: direction, and'in a laterally projecting position with its noseextending over'a rearward face on said striker-plate and manual meansfor retracting said hook laterally and said bolt longitudinally fromsaid striker-plate, said bolt being provided with a beveled end surfaceadapted to engage and be retracted by saidst-riker-plate as a doorbearing said lockis swung to closed position.

5. The combination of a supporting plate, a bolt mounted thereon andconsisting of amovable member having a guided body portion and a hookmember movably connected to said movable 'member and normally inlaterally projected position, spring means permitting said movablemember to be moved in either forward or rearward direction 'froma normalintermediate position and adapted to return it to saidintermed1ateposit1o-n, and a striker-plate with the *innersu'rface ofwhich said hook is adapted to engage, and manual means for retractingsaidhook laterally and saidbolt longitudinally.

6. The combination of a supporting plate, a bolt mounted thereon andconsisting of a movable member having a guided body portion and ahookmember movably' connected to said movable member and normally inlaterally projected position.- spring means permitting said movablemember to be moved in either forward or rearward "direction from anormal intermediate position,

and av striker-plate with the inner'su'rface of which said hook isadaptedto engage, and manual means for retracting said'hook lat orallyand said bolt longitudinally, one of said members having a beveled faceupon itsend adaptedto engage and be forced longitudinally inward bysaidstriker pl'ate as a door bearing said lock is swung to closedposition.

7 The combinationof a supporting plate, a bolt mounted thereon andconsistingof a movable member having a guided body portion and a hookmember movably connected to said movable member and normally inlaterally projected position, spring means permitting said movablemember to be moved in either forward or rearward direction from a normalintermediate position and adapted to return it to said intermediateposition, said hook being adapted to engage the inner surface of astriker-plate, and manual means for retracting said hook laterally andsaid bolt longitudinally, both of said members having beveled faces upontheir ends adapted to engage and be forced inward loi'igitudinally bysaid striker-plate when a door bearing said lock is swung to closedposition.

8. The combination of a supporting plate, a bolt mounted thereonconsisting of a sliding member carrying a hook, means for yieldinglyholding said bolt in an intermediate position from which it is free tomove in either directon and said hook in a laterally projected position,and manually operative means engaging with said bolt for manuallyretracting said hook laterallyand said bolt longitudinally away from astriker-plate. I

9. The combination of a supporting plate, a bolt mounted thereon andconsisting of a movable member having a guided body portion and a hookmember movably connected to said movable member and normally inlaterally projected position, spring means perinitting said movablememberto be moved in either forward or rearward direction from a normalintermediate position and adapted to return it to said intermediate positio-n, and a striker-plate with the inner surface of which said hookis adapted to engage, and manual means for retracting said hooklaterally and said bolt longitudinally, said striker-plate being adaptedto abnormally extend said bolt upon the separation of said supportingand said striker-plates by a relative movement parallel to the plane ofsaid supporting plate.

10. The combination of a supporting plate, a. bolt mounted thereon andconsisting of a movable member having a guided body portion and a hookmember movably connected to said movable member and normally inlaterally projected position, spring means permitting said movablemember to be moved in either forward or rearward direction from a normalintermediate position and adapted to return it to said intermediateposition. said hook being adapted to engage the inner surface of astrikerplate, and a lever for retracting said hook laterally and saidbolt longitudinally, said hook member and lever havin one a cam surfacesloping in a vertical irection and the other a laterally projectingsurface adapted to engage therewith, one of said surfaces movingin avertical direction as said lever is actuated.

11. The combination of a supporting plate, a bolt mounted thereon andconsisting of a movable member having a guided body portion and a hookmember movably connected to said movable member and normally inlaterally projected position, spring means permitting said movablemember to be moved in either forward or rearward direction from a normalintermediate position, said hook being adapted to engage the innersurface of a striker-plate, and a lever for retracting said hooklaterally and said bolt longitudinally, said hook member having anupwardly sloping cam surface and said le ver having a laterallyprojecting face ongaging said cam surface and moving down wardly as saidlever is moved in retracting direction.

12. A door latch comprising a proper in casement, a latch bolt providedwith a beveled head forming a hook, said bolt being slidably mountedwithin said incasement and being capable of advancing said head througha perforation with which the face of said incasement is provided to andbeyond normal latching position, spring means to advance and maintainsaid bolt in its normal latching position, counteracting spring means toreturn said bolt to its normal latching position when against theexertion of said counteracting spring means said bolt has been extendedby external means beyond said normal latching position, and means toretire said bolt head within said incasement.

13. A door latch-catch comprising a proper incasement, a beveled headlatch bolt slidably mounted within said incasement and being capable ofadvancing said head. to and beyond normal latching position through aperforation with which the face of said incasement is provided, a catchmember pivoted to and carried by said latch bolt, said catch membernormally projecting laterally from the beveled side of said bolt head,spring means exerted to normally maintain said catch member in itsprojected position, spring means exerted to advance and maintain saidlatch bolt in its normal latching position, counteracting spring meansto return said latch bolt to its normal latching position when, againstthe exertion of said counteracting spring means, said bolt has beenextended, by external means, beyond said normal latching position, andmeans to retire said catch member and said latch bolt head against theirrespective spring means within said incasement.

14. A door latch comprising a proper incasement, said incasement beingprovided with a bolt passage extending through the face of saidincasenient, bolt advancingi spring means mounted within said 1ncase-,

ment, means with which said incasement is provided in said bolt passageto arrest the exertion of said spring means counteracting spring meansmounted within said incasoment, means with which said incasement isprovided in said bolt passage to arrest the exertion of saidcounteracting spring means, a latch bolt provided with a beveled headforming a hook, said bolt be in slidably mounted in said bolt passage ofsaid incasement shoulders with which said latch bolt is provided lyingbetween and respectivel engaging said spring means and saidcounteracting spring means, and means to retire said bolt within saidincasement.

15. A door" latch-catch comprising a proper incasement, said incasementbeing provided ,wit-h a bolt passage extending through the face of saidincasement, bolt advancing spring means mounted within said incasement,means with which said incasementis provided in said bolt passage toarrest the exertion of said spring vmeans, counteracting spring meansmounted Withinsaid incasemenh means with which said incasement isprovided in said bolt passage to arrest the exertion of said,counteracting spring means, a beveled head latch bolt slidably vmountedin said bolt passage of said incasement, shoulders with which said latchbolt is provided lying between and respec tivelv engaging said springmeans and said counteractingspring means, a catch member pivoted to andcarried by said latch bolt, said catch member normally projectinglatnaaaaec erally ironrthebeveled sidegof said bolt head, spring meansexerted to ,normally maintain said catch member in its projectedposition, and means to retire said catch member and said latch boltagainst their respective spring means within said incasement, 7 I

16. Ina safety catch for swinging doors, comprising a striker-plate anda latch mechanisnn, the combination of a base-plate adapted to besecured. to a door, a hooked latch mounted thereon so-as to be movablelongitudinally and. about arpivot relatively thereto and provided with abeveled face on its inner .side,' a striker-plate engaged by saidbeveled face so as to move said latch about said pivot as said doorcloses, said striker-plate having a rearwardly facing.

surface behind which the hook of said hooked latch lies after movementabout said pivot when the door is closed, spring means for permittingsaid hooked latch to be drawn longitudinally outwardrelatively to saidbase-plate and said base-plate and striker-plate. to be drawn apart whensaid hook is in engagement with said rearwardly facing surfaceand'tending to restore said parts to normal position and manuallyactuated means for freeing said hooked latch from holding engagementwith said strikerplate so as to permitpthe opening of the door.

In testimony; whereof I have signed my name to thisspecification,

GEORGE HENRY ELWELL. Witnesses VVILLIAM C. Pam's LYDIAR. ELWELL.

Copi espf this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by:addressing the Commissioner of Eatenta v Washington, DJ)!

